Cheltenham Festival’s Newest Races

Ryanair Chase (Added in 2005)

When the Cheltenham Festival was expanded to add a fourth day for the 2005 renewal, a wealth of races needed to be added to the race card. One of them was the Ryanair Chase, which is run over two miles, four furlongs and 127 yards, with 17 fences to be jumped during that time. A similar even called the Cathcart Challenge Cup had existed at the Festival before, but that was limited to chasers in only their first or second season.

The race has a weight of 11 stone and 10 pounds attached, with mares receiving a seven pound allowance. Sponsored by the Irish airline Ryanair, who might well be responsible for getting many people from the Emerald Isle to Prestbury Park for the race, its registered title is the Festival Trophy. It was initially a Grade 2 event, being upgraded to Grade 1 in 2008 and has maintained that level ever since.

Novices’ Handicap Chase (Added in 2005)

Officially known as the Centenary Novices’ Handicap Chase, this event’s time at Cheltenham was relatively short-lived. Founded as part of the new wave of events in 2005, the Listed event moved to Sandown Park ahead of the 2021 Festival in order to make way for the Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Chase. Open to horses aged five and over, it is run over two miles, four furlongs and 10 yards, with 16 fences to jump.

The first ever running of the event was won by Mattie Batchelor on the back of King Harald, who went on the win the Lester Award for the Jump Ride Of The Year. The name of the event has changed numerous times of the years, largely because of sponsorships by various different companies. It is now run at Sandown a few days before the Festival gets underway, meaning it is at least tied to the meeting in terms of timing.

Cross Country Chase (Added in 2005)

Cheltenham Racecourse boasts an excellent cross country course, which many felt wasn’t being used properly. That might well be why it was decided that a Cross Country Chase should be added to the list of events ahead of the 2005 Festival. Run over three miles, six furlongs and 37 yards, it offers 32 obstacles for the horses, which must be aged five and over, to cope with if they hope to win the event.

It was a handicap race initially, changing to become a conditions event from 2016 onwards. It is one of three cross country races held at Prestbury Park, with the other two taking place in November and December. Tiger Roll won the event both years ahead of his success in the Grand National, also winning in 2021 when his owners decided not to enter him into the Aintree event because of the weight he was asked to carry.

Juvenile Novices’ Handicap Hurdle (Added in 2005)

Not to be confused with the Prestbury Juvenile Novices’ Hurdle, this event is officially called the Fred Winter Juvenile Novices’ Handicap Hurdle. It’s a Premier Handicap event open to four-year-olds and is run under handicap conditions. Run over two miles and 87 yards, it has eight hurdles that the horses will need to jump successfully if they hope to be in with a chance of winning it when the finish line appears.

Named in honour of the successful jockey and trainer Fred Winter, it was added to the Festival in 2005 and has featured in it ever since. Initially a Listed race, it was promoted to become a Grade 3 offering four years after its inauguration and then changed to a Premier Handicap when Grade 3 changed its name in 2022. When it was run for the first time, Nina Carberry was the winning jockey on the back of Dabiroun. Other winning jockeys of the event include Ruby Walsh, Paul Carberry and Sam Twiston-Davies.

Spa Novices’ Hurdle (Added in 2005)

The final race to tell you about that was added to the roster of events in 2005 is the Spa Novices’ Hurdle. Often referred to as the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle because of its main sponsor, the race takes place over two miles, seven furlongs and 213 yards. The horses will need to get over twelve hurdles during the running of the race, which is open to those aged four and over and boasts the following weight information:

• 4-year-olds: 10 stone 10 pounds
• 5-year-olds and over: 11 stone 5 pounds
• Fillies and mares are given a 7 pound allowance

It was a Grade 2 race when it was introduced, but it was promoted to Grade 1 in 2008, which was when the vegetable growing company Albert Bartlett took over sponsorship. To date, no jockey has won the race as many times as Tony McCoy, who was victorious four times before he retired from racing. Well-known horses such as Bobs Worth, Penhill and Minella Indo have won this race before going on to greater heights.

David Nicholson Mares’ Hurdle (Added in 2008)

The David Nicholson Mares’ Hurdle was established in 2008, being run on the final day of the Festival. It was created to honour David Nicholson, the jockey and trainer who won 22 races in total at the meeting before he died in 2006. Run over two miles, four furlongs and 200 yards, it has ten hurdles as part of the course. It’s open to fillies and mares aged four and over, weighing 10 stone 11 pounds if they’re four and 11 stone 5 if they’re five or older.

The event was switched to the opening day of the Festival in 2009 meaning that that it also moved from the New Course to the Old Course as a result. Initially a Grade 2 event, it became a Grade 1 offering from 2015 onwards. No horse has come close to winning the event as many times as Quevega, who won it six times in succession between 2009 and 2014, cementing her place in the record books.

Martin Pipe Handicap Hurdle (Added in 2009)

This race is the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle, often referred to simply as the Martin Pipe Handicap Hurdle for the sake of ease. It’s for horses aged four and over, with the key information actually being that it is limited to conditional jockeys. Run on the New Course over two miles, four furlongs and 56 yards, it’s a handicap event with nine hurdles for the participants to negotiate if they hope to win.

Named in honour of Martin Pipe, the National Hunt trainer who had retired in 2006, it was established as a new race in 2009. Willie Mullins is the most successful trainer in the event, which is fitting in the sense that he’s a rival to Martin Pipe. Pipe was named Champion Trainer 15 times in his career, winning 34 races as a trainer at the Cheltenham Festival.

Golden Miller Novices’ Chase (Added in 2011)

Established in 2011 as one of the Festival’s new races, the Golden Miller Novices’ Chase is for horses aged five and over with a weight of 11 stone, four pounds, though mares are given a seven pound allowance. It is run over 2 miles, 3 furlongs and 168 yards, with 17 fences to be jumped. It became a Grade 1 race in 2014 when it was known as the Jewson Novices’ Chase.

It has always been run under a sponsored title, with the Golden Miller Novices’ Chase being its registered title and given in honour of the famous horse. Aimed at novice chasers, it is run on the third day of the Festival and was introduced as a replacement for the Novices’ Handicap Chase when it became the Centenary Novices’ Handicap Chase and was moved to the first day of the meeting.

Dawn Run Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle (Added in 2016)

A Grade 2 event for novice mares, the event is run over two miles and 179 yards. The weight information for the race is slightly complicated, given that four-year-olds can carry ten stone and nine pounds, horses aged five and over have 11 stone and two pounds, Class 1 weight-for-age hurdle winners take a five pound penalty and Class 2 weight-for-age winners take a three pound penalty, as do Class 1 handicap hurdle winners.

There are eight hurdles to be jumped in the race, which was run for the first time in 2016. It was brought in in order to allow the Cheltenham Festival to expand to 28 races, initially being run under the sponsorship title of the Trull House Stud Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle. That continued until 2019, being run with numerous sponsored names since then. Willie Mullins was the winning trainer for the race’s first five outings.

Liberthine Mares’ Chase (Added in 2021)

The Liberthine Mares’ Chase was introduced to the Cheltenham Festival in 2021, replacing the Centenary Novices’ Handicap Chase on the race card. The decision to replace that race with this one was taken after ‘consultation with key stakeholders’, which included trainers from both Britain and Ireland. The Centenary Novices’ Handicap Chase was moved to Sandown, with this race coming into Prestbury Park as a replacement.

Initially run as the Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Chase because of sponsorship, the new event was decided upon in order to give female horses another race run in at the Festival. Taking place over two miles, four furlongs and 127 yards, the race is for mares aged five and over with weight information of 11 stones and two pounds. There are 17 fences in the race, which is run on the New Course at Prestbury Park.